Mas Amiel Maury Millesime 1980
Gallon of gas was $1.19. VHS tapes ruled the world. CNN is born. Pac-man is released. And MAS AMIEL in southern France made an absolutely head-spinning, skin-tingling dessert wine and put it in a bottle in an underground cellar 41 years ago until we found them a few years back and well...you know how we roll. WOW wow wowow!! This is so off the rails good -- you’ve never had anything like it (unless you got the 1969 or the 1985 we sold some years back!!)...ultra, uber, mega-limited - don’t miss! Mind-expanding, decadent, hedonistic dessert wine from one of the most extreme winemaking regions on earth........94 POINTS Wine Advocate….certified organic to boot..nearly 50% OFF!!
OK. Got some? Nice. Here’s the deal. Maury is in a rocky, sun and wind-blistered region of southern France (Roussillon) and has a fascinating history (Google it, if you're the geeky type) --- this property dates back some 200 years and is much loved among sommeliers around the world for its unique, Grenache-based, somewhere-between vintage-and-tawny Port style. It's fortified wine (like Port) that will last probably another half CENTURY, if you were so inclined, but whenever you drink it, prepare to be stunned, paralyzed, and preferably sitting down, as you may just faint. Aged outside in glass for one year, and over 35+ years in oak barrels, this jaw-dropping rich, insanely nutty/fruity and aromatic wine is utterly packed with wild, adjective-inspiring aromas and flavors...a true experience. The easy flavor description for us is chocolate-covered figs and/or fig jam. Then comes waves of roasted sweet nuts, dates, raw walnuts and hazelnuts, sweet Thai iced tea, cardamom, cocoa, mint, caramel, roasting coffee beans (or torrefaction, if you wanna get super dorky) is just some of what's going on....lightly sweet and a finish that goes on until you are climbing into bed, satisfied and glowing. So rockin’ cool....while it lasts!! 41 years old, 94 points, this silly price...just wow. While it lasts..!
Mas Amiel is a large property – the biggest private cellar in Maury – located in the heart of the Agly valley, in France’s Roussillon region. This is Cathar country: it’s beautiful but rugged—a hot, rather hostile environment with rocky, stony soils, frequent windy weather, and 260 days’ sunshine a year. Back in 1816, a bishop used one of his plots of land as a bet in a game of cards. He lost it to Raymond Amiel, and this is how Mas Amiel was born. At the time, it only had 10 hectares of vines on it; it has grown substantially since then.
“The stunning 1980 Millesime is a compelling wine of magnificent complexity and delicacy. It reveals aromas and flavors of sweet pipe tobacco, cedar, dried molasses, as well as plums. It is pure, fresh, smooth as silk, and possesses and an extraordinarily long, voluptuous finish. This great wine can be consumed over the course of the next 12-15 years.” Pierre Rovani, Wine Advocate
Its intense notes of chocolate and fresh figs are followed by a dazzling peppermint finish. The palate is surprising, at once because of its frank and strong attack and because of its surprising acidity for a wine of this age.
Technical Details
Country: FranceRegion: Languedoc-Roussillon
Appellation: Maury
Varietal: Red Blends
Aging/Cooperage: AGED FOR ONE YEAR IN GLASS DEMIJOHNS OUTSIDE, SINCE THEN IN 350-HECTOLITRE OAK CASKS.
Alcohol: 16
About The Producer
Mas Amiel was bought by Olivier Decelle in 1999. At the time, he was CEO of Picard Surgelés, a successful frozen food retailer. Now Olivier devotes all his time to his various wine projects (he also owns properties in Bordeaux and Burgundy). He’s renovated the vineyards extensively, started using biodynamics, and has expanded the range of wines on offer.
Decelle was led to wine by a chance meeting with one of Bordeaux’ leading consultants. ‘For 20 years I was working with Picard Surgelés and by chance one day I met Jacques Boissenot,’ he explains. ‘As the CEO of Picard Surgelés I was in the food business, so I thought: why not go into the production of wine?’
He began looking for a small property to buy as a sort of hobby, but ended up with a huge property, mas Amiel, that needed lots of work. ‘At that time because I was still a CEO with 500 retail units to manage, I was sharing my time between Picard and Mas Amiel. In 2001 I decided to quit my job and not only to finance Mas Amiel, but to be involved actively in the production of the wine.’
Pairing Suggestions
1980 MILLESIME goes well with game, foie gras and thrills chocolate lovers.
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